How to get to know your heart rate to optimize workouts
Exercise is vital for everyone, but it shouldn’t hurt, and it can be more enjoyable with the right equipment and proper use at the optimum heart rate. (I’m writing this blog to discuss what I am doing for exercise. It is not intended to serve as medical advice.) Photo: Adobe Stock.
I’ve set my sights on running in the “Greensboro Gobbler,” a 5K race that is held on the morning of Thanksgiving. And it’s the first of several goals that I have set for myself, leading up to my 60th birthday in four years.
To help me get there, I’ve been enjoying my elliptical trainer.
That’s right, I literally enjoy it. Because I’ve learned how to get a more effective workout.
First, do no harm
An elliptical meets my Physical Therapist best practices. I find the motion has a natural feel. The lack of impact makes it easy on the joints. I like the sensation of my weight being on my feet. I find it helps my balance. It is also relatively easy to maintain my heart rate in a desired range.
My elliptical trainer has a built-in heart rate monitor that communicates wirelessly with a strap around my chest that detects my heart rate. I was often getting incorrect readings and figured it was time to try getting some replacement parts for my chest strap or purchase a new one.
My usual MO is to repair rather than replace. However, this time, I chose to purchase a new device, the Polar H10. I’m glad that I did.
‘Turns out, it was the elliptical misreading the strap. So, I switched to using my smartphone or tablet to monitor my heart rate. This also has the advantage of maintaining a diary of my exercise activity.
Like most people, I thought I needed to really push it to the desired effect. Starting out, my approach to exercising on the elliptical trainer was to exercise at a high intensity, trying to keep my heart rate just under 85 to 90% of its predicted maximum, depending upon which formula is used.
Here’s a game-changer: zones based on heart rate
I’m late to adopt this, but I have recently been focusing on “zone two” training. This is exercise at 60 to 70% of a person’s maximum heart rate.
At this intensity, our bodies burn fatty acids for energy. At higher intensities, our fuel source switches to glucose and other carbohydrates. Lactic acid is a byproduct of using carbohydrates to fuel exercise anaerobically, meaning without oxygen. When exercising in zone 2, we are building our aerobic base. Our cells grow more mitochondria that burn fat for fuel, and blood flow to our muscles is improved.
A good way to tell if you’re in zone two is to talk out loud. If you can say a 10-to-15-word sentence without changing your breathing, then you are likely still in zone 2. You should feel as if you can sustain this intensity for a long time.
I’ve been doing 95 minutes on the elliptical one to two times per week. Previously, when exercising at higher intensities I would look at the timer and try to will it to count the minutes faster. (I also do 45 minutes three to four times per week, and strength training twice a week. During these shorter sessions I will divide my time between zone 2 and zones 3 and 4.)
Now, when in zone two, time flies. I look at the timer and think, “Oh, is that all that’s left?”
Not all endurance-type exercises should be in zone two. It’s generally accepted that 80% of our time spent exercising should be there, while the other 20% is done at higher intensities.
There are a couple of different approaches to this. Some use “pyramidal training.” Zone two is the base (80%), zone three is smaller (12 to 15%) and zone 4 is the smallest, at 5 to 8%. Others advocate “polarized training.” Go slow or go fast and there’s no middle ground.
Zones are based on a percentage of the person’s personal maximum heart rate. Zone three is between 70% and 80% of a person’s maximum heart rate, while zone four is between 80% and 90%. Zone 5 is between 90% and 100%. Zone 5 can only be maintained for short periods of time. (Zone 1 is between 50% and 60%. While there is some benefit from exercising at such a low intensity, it is not as effective as Zone 2.)
Determining your optimum heart rate
How do you find your maximum heart rate?
In the 1970s, physiologists came up with a formula for estimating a person’s maximum heart rate. Subtract their age from 220.
E.g., I’m 55 years old. According to this formula, my maximum heart rate should be 165 beats per minute. During intense periods of exercise, I’ve been able to get my heart rate near that level (most recently, 163) at a 90+% effort, and not at 100%.
I’m reasonably certain that if I were tested in an exercise laboratory that my maximum heart rate would be higher. (And at some point down the road I may very well do that!)
Be advised the 220 minus your age formula has been found to underestimate a person’s heart rate when they are over the age of 30. The HUNT Study tested 3,320 people, aged 19 to 89, for their maximum heart rate. From this data, a new and more accurate formula was developed: 211-(.64*age). This formula predicts my maximum heart rate to be 176 beats per minute.
There are more signs that I am tracking presently. These include my resting heart rate (and my heart rate reserve), my heart rate variability, and my VO2 max. I’ll talk more about these in a future post.
Join me at the Gobbler
If you see me at the Greensboro Gobbler, come up and say hello! I’ll probably be decked out in Cedar Hill Physical Therapy and Wellness Center swag! And cheer me on to my 60th birthday goal line in 2028.